Another 3.1
by TheVictim
Summary: A Starcraft love story, of a sort...


ANOTHER 3.1   
  
  
Ella checked the power levels on her Caduceus reactor and powered up her tissue regenerator. The subject was pulled from the bunker by two other marines. A firebat stationed with them kept an eye on things while she started treatment.   
  
  
"What the hell happened?" She exasperated, lifting the unconscious marine's visor and checking his airway.   
  
  
"We were just sitting at our gun ports when he snapped. He started muttering about Zerglings and Zealots, and took a stim hit. Next thing we know, he slaps a clip of U-238 into his guass gun and starts blasting away at rocks. We checked with the Comsat Control officer and authorized a scan, but there was nothing out there. He took two more hits off his stim and then passed out." Corporal Bedderman advised.   
  
  
"Stupid bastard, probably fried every nueron in his pathetic jar head." She said as Bedderman looked contemptuously at her. He understood that field medics could get a bit detached from things with all the death they see, but he felt that her comment was just not necessary. They had started to take more of a frontline role when they discovered that their tissue regenerator's power field could destroy enemy optics and sterilize the Zerg's biological attacks.   
  
  
"Is Brad going to be all right?" Bedderman asked.   
  
  
"Oh sure, we'll just keep using tissue regeneration until he is a twitching mass of nerves, no problem there, we don't need real medical care, just zap him and he'll be fine." Ella rattled on. Bedderman became a bit uneasier in her presence. He did not need to be reminded that tissue regeneration does more harm than good in the long run. Even if Brad lived after his tour he would be looking forward to cancer and a variety of nuero-muscular disorders later in life. The UED thought it an equitable trade. She trained her tissue regenerator on Brad and quipped "Now keep quiet, If I concentrate I can reduce the damage the regenerator causes". Flashes of light streamed from the device. Brad began to stir.   
  
  
"Good as new, we should be able to get our 3.1 out of this guy no problem." Her tone began to take on an air of futility. Bedderman was beginning to understany why. UED marines were often referred to as 3.1's because that was their average life expectancy in seconds when battle commences. The medical core had actually greatly extended the chances of survival, but they continued to question the use of infantry as a matter of professional ethics.   
  
  
Brad had calmed down considerably and had now stood up. He reached for his rifle. A white armored glove interceded.   
  
  
"I don't think so hotshot, you're getting some rest. If you fight now chances are you'll fall apart". Ella said, grabbing the rifle and slinging it on her pack. She plugged it into her pack to charge. Brad could see her visor HUD give a display on the weapon's status on the inside of her helment. Field medics almost never participated in combat, but they were given the weapons training and equipment if the need did arise.   
  
  
As Bedderman and Ella escorted Brad to the command center infirmary, an alert sounded in his helmet radio. The signal officer was reporting a field disturbance being picked up by the NW missile installation. Wraith pilots scrambled about the base to get to their craft. Missiles began to fire from the NW tower. Bedderman's visor HUD displayed information relayed by the tower sensor arrays. Enemy Wraith fighters had engaged the base. They picked up their pace to try and make it to the command center before the enemy fighters closed in. A roar erupted from the edge of the base as a shaft of fire split the cloud cover from above, striking to the east of the command center. They could see the comsat receiver building evaporate into a cloud of particles, the after effect of the devastating Yamato cannon. If battlecruisers were being employed then they were severly outclassed. Brad and Bedderman looked at each other and without saying a word grabbed Ella and headed for the starport deck. Retreating from the base was becoming their only option. Tracking information on the enemy fighters dissapeared from their visors as the last detector array perished with it's host missile tower. They were alone among an invisible enemy.   
  
  
They reached the starport deck as a dropship pilot was powering up her craft. A voice crackled in Bedderman's radio. "Can I take your order?" She chirpped. Bedderman could hear the distinctive pop of bubble gum. A rarity this far from Earth. He began to favor the cold shoulder of the medical corps to these slightly psychotic dropship pilots. As they lifted off from the starport deck the unmistakeable sound of hissing and thrashing zerg could be heard. Brad tensed up as the sounds got closer. Bedderman had to help him strap into his jumpseat.   
  
  
"Looks like those Confederate sons of bitches brought their pet Zerg with them." Bedderman spat as he secured his own seat. Sharp pings resounded inside the hull as gigantic spikes lodged themselves into the armor of the ship. Their ship began to rock.   
  
  
"Strap yourselves in boys, we're in for some chop" The pilot commented, snapping her gum in punctuation. A shriek erupted as a spike penetrated the hull and lauched itself into the cabin, spearing Ella's armor square in the breastplate. Blood drained from the jagged wound. Ella slumped forward in her straps, already unconscious.   
  
  
Bedderman unbuckled himself from his jumpseat and knelt before Ella, propping her back up. He tightened her straps so she wouldn't slump. Removing the spine would be another matter. He grabbed the base with gloved hands and placed his boot on the bulkhead behind her, pulling the spike with all his might. "I can use some help here." Bedderman barked out to Brad. Brad was just staring out into the cabin, numb with shock. After another few moments of struggle he was able to dislodge the spine. It was of the grooved variety to make it more aerodynamic and fly farther. He had read an intelligence report that was intercepted from a Confederate science vessel stating that the zerg Hydralisks as they were called were starting to evolve new genetic codings that allowed them to grow even more powerfull. The Protoss were bad enough, but now Human kind had to face the possibility that they could be eliminated from the galaxy altogether. The spines were more of a danger to larger targets such as tanks and aircraft as they tended to pass through smaller targets, doing less damage because they could not give up all of their energy in the target. This one seemed to be causing a bit more of a problem.   
  
  
Ella regained consciousness and moaned at Bedderman "Stop the bleeding, I'll be alright." He thought otherwise. He unstrapped her Caduceus reactor and tissue regenerator, attempting to affix it to himself. He knew that a medic's regenerator could not be used by the person wearing it. He would make an attempt himself. He knew how, but had never actually used one before. It was more art than science. He would have to direct the energy of the regenerator using his own will. Tricky stuff, he thought.   
  
  
"Any hints on how to do this?" Bedderman asked as he powered up the reactor. Ella was fading fast. He opened her visor and attempted to clean some of the blood off her face that she had coughed up.   
  
  
"You don't understand, you have to feel enough to heal the pain, but you try not to care." Ella said deliriously.   
  
  
Bedderman moved the regenerator over the breach in her armor, and tried to think about the process. Energy from the reactor filled his head. He felt a bit woozy. Something screamed at him from within the wounded medic's chest. He reached in with his power to silence to agony. The voices died down as he flooded them with his power. He felt the pain, but he also felt more. The agony of every soldier she had treated was lodged in her being. He desperately wanted to reach out and ease the pain. How could he do this? He searched her soul for the answer, completely unaware that when he had finished treating her wound, he had dropped the regenerator. He cradled her torn psyche in his strength and told the pain to go away.   
  
  
Bedderman wasn't sure how long they had been asleep. The dropship arrived at their Beta installation for repair. The crackle of the SCV's welding torch echoed through the ship as the SCV operator attached parts as fast as his nano-assembler could produce them. He woke up Ella and walked her down the ramp out of the ship.   
  
  
"Not bad for an amatuer." She said, both knowing what had transgressed on the ship. She was gratefull of the gift that she had been given. She could face the horrors of the world with new found strength. There was no way she could refer him to the Ghost program. No one who cared like him could be subjected to that kind of life. She found him first. Another 3.1 she could save from the ravages of war.   
  
  
Victim@mobile.att.net   
  



End file.
